All My Sons
Information
- Date
- 17th October 2023
- Society
- DDOS
- Venue
- Green Room Theatre, Dorking
- Type of Production
- Play
- Director
- Kelly Twine
- Written By
- Arthur Miller
The setting, of the play, was the rear of a house, with a verandah and garden. Beautifully designed, it filled the space and gave the impression of rooms beyond. Lighting reinforced the time of day and the mood; and all the sound effects were appropriate and precisely timed. Congratulations to Stuart Yeatman for all of this.
Costumes were attractive and generally in keeping with the period. Hair and makeup were all suitable for the time.
Joe Keller is a good ol’ boy, full of pride and homilies. He lectures cute kid, Bert…a very good Sebby Vernon, who had bags of energy and was totally in character. But Joe is a natural-born liar concealing his crimes with bluster and hypocrisy. This was a towering performance, by Geoff Brown, that seemed to get better as the play progressed and Joe’s sins are gradually uncovered.
Linda McMahon was his wife, Kate. This was a strong and vivid portrayal of a woman who fiercely refuses to accept that her missing son, Larry, is almost certainly dead. Her grief and her resolve were so strongly displayed.
Idealistic Chris Keller (Jon Day) has returned from a tough war, hoping to find a better life in peacetime. Jon’s playing got stronger as his character is forced to grapple with each new revelation.
Rosalind Brown played Ann Deever with enthusiasm and emotion and strength. Ann has moved on from being Larry’s girl and has accepted his brother Chris’s proposal. But she’s thwarted by Kate’s intransigence and shocked at Georgie’s news of their father.
Jess Coppen-Gardner was Ann’s sister, Georgie. Extremely imposing, she absolutely fizzed with pent-up anger at the Kellers; and, yet, there was that hint of pleasure in being back in a house that had been such a big part of her youth.
Jason Spiller was Dr Jim Baylis, a man torn between his duty to provide for his family and his desire to strive for the greater good in medical research. Dry and avuncular, he radiated angst at the conflict within himself. Linda Kelly played his wife, Sue…strident sparky and humorous, affectionate to her husband, but deeply resentful of Chris’s influence over him.
Felix Cuthbert played Frank Lubey with a slightly creepy enthusiasm. Frank never served in the war and has caught and married Lydia on the rebound. His fey use of horoscopes reinforces Kate’s belief in Larry’s survival. Andrea Charles, as Lydia, radiated sparkle and great energy. She is a cheerful, welcome distraction from the gathering storm.
The whole production worked wonderfully. Casting was excellent…each person totally lived their character and gave strong, naturalistic performances. The realism and the emotions were so true that members of the audience were gasping and exclaiming, totally bound up in it.
Kelly Twine has had a protracted love affair with this play – and it shows in the richness and sensitivity of her superb production. She and her ensemble have created a truly satisfying evening.
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